The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) released a new report this week that takes a deeper look at unemployment, particularly when it comes to racial disparities in the recovery from the Great Recession. The report, written by Valerie Wilson, argues that the projected decline in unemployment for 2015 won't lift African Americans out of the employment crater caused by the recession.

More than 35 people gathered at the Northern Virginia labor office on Monday, March 23, to participate in a 90-minute Common Sense Economics workshop conducted by the AFL-CIO. Among those taking part were representatives from the NAACP, religious social action networks, immigrant rights groups, young people and elected officials, as well as union representatives, including AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

As Congress continues to debate Fast Track trade authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), members of Ohio's congressional delegation are stepping up and calling for trade policies that are open and transparent and protect things that Ohioans and Americans care about: democracy, jobs, the environment and the Internet. While Fast Track and TPP are being negotiated in secret, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D), Rep. Tim Ryan (D) and Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga are taking their case directly to the people of Ohio. Like most Ohio residents, they want trade policies that keep manufacturing jobs in the United States.

Taxi riders in Newark, N.J., can now enjoy the convenience of using a cellphone app to book a cab while resting secure in the knowledge that the dispatched driver is licensed and insured, and that the vehicle they are about to get into has been inspected and regularly maintained.

In 2015, nearly 5 million American workers might get a pay raise. By joining together to ask for one. Through a union.

Minimum wage hikes, overtime expansion, paid sick leave and other policy improvements are important to raise wages in America. But the best way for workers to get a raise is by asking for one with a collective voice. That’s what workers do—bargain together in unions to improve our lives.

Welcome to our regular feature, a look at what the various AFL-CIO unions, state federations and other working family organizations are doing around the country and beyond. The labor movement is big and active—here's a look at the broad range of activities we're engaged in this week.

This past weekend in Chicago, I attended the AFL-CIO Next Up Summit, which is a young workers conference. While there, I had the privilege of not only representing my union, the Machinists (IAM) and my Local Lodge 2323, but also of representing Canada as one of only seven Canadian delegates in attendance. More than 1,000 young workers from across the United States descended on the shores of Lake Michigan and came together in the Chicago Hilton’s Grand Ballroom to discuss the labor movement. We were a diverse group with different backgrounds: race, gender, sexual orientation and age, united in a common passion to change the world around us.

After nearly nine years of waiting, two immigrant workers who suffered serious workplace injuries were able to bring their cases to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)—an international body that promotes and protects human rights in the Americas. However, because of dysfunctional U.S. immigration policies the workers could not be in the room. In fact, both of them faced deportation threats after seeking workers’ compensation after their accidents. Now they are challenging the U.S. government's failure to protect their rights from their homes in Mexico, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Employment Law Project and the University of Pennsylvania's Transnational Legal Clinic.

The Cornell University Worker Institute and the Berger-Marks Foundation have released a new report with detailed advice and real-world tools that can be used to create women's committees in labor unions and worker-centered organizations. The publication, A Guide to Organizing Women’s Committees: Everything You Need to Know to Make a Difference, provides step-by-step methods for the development and implementation of women's committees. And if your organization already has a women's committee, the guide easily can be used to help existing committees expand and grow. The report is filled with good information on program ideas and strategies for community outreach.

In our regular weekly feature, we'll be taking a look at the winners and losers of the week in the struggle for the rights of working families. The winners will be the persons or organizations that go above and beyond to expand or protect the rights of working families, while the losers will be whoever went above and beyond to limit or deny those rights.